


Fate Beckons

by TheTimeTraveler24



Series: Blink of an Eye [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland Friendship, F/M, Isabelle Lightwood Ships Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Protective Alec Lightwood, Season/Series 01, Supportive Clary Fray, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29775174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimeTraveler24/pseuds/TheTimeTraveler24
Summary: It's been one year since Clary left their lives and the Shadow World. Jace refuses to move on and comes up with an insane plan to go back in time and fix everything. For once, he probably should have listened to his parabatai. Alec should have put his foot down the moment Jace concocted this plan. At least then, they wouldn't have gotten caught up in this mess.Time to leave behind the relative peace in favor of problems definitely not as big as how to spend a relaxing, peaceful day: Simon becoming a vampire, Alec proposing to Lydia, Jace and Clary being siblings, Valentine's quest for the Mortal Cup, and setting Camille free. Now, how to prevent all that?
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Clary Fray & Luke Garroway, Clary Fray & Simon Lewis, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Jocelyn Fairchild & Clary Fray, Lorenzo Rey/Andrew Underhill (mentioned), Lydia Branwell & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane & Clary Fray, Magnus Bane & Clary Fray & Simon Lewis & Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Lydia Branwell, Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane & Tessa Gray, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood
Series: Blink of an Eye [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188407
Comments: 34
Kudos: 44





	1. One Year Gone

_The hardest part of missing you is knowing you still roam the earth loving people who aren't me._

_-Unknown_

It had been a whole year. One whole year of trying to get back to normal.

Everyone felt it, whether or not they felt it in the same way. Clary’s absence had been weighing on them for a year now. And it hadn’t gone away.

Which was what led Jace to even proposing the crazy idea in the first place. He started with just Izzy and Simon. Mostly because they were the only ones in New York, and also because he figured he would need their support when he went to ask Alec and Magnus.

“That’s a new level of insanity,” Simon finally said. “And coming from the mundane turned vampire turned daylighter turned daylighter Shadowhunter, that’s saying something.”

Izzy’s lips twitched. “I’m with Simon on this, Jace. Besides, don’t you think the angels would just turn their wrath on _us_ if we _did_ accomplish that?”

“Screw the angels,” Jace said. “It’s been a year. Whatever Clary did—resurrecting Valentine, creating the alliance rune—don’t you think _killing_ Jonathan should have canceled all that out? I mean, what else could she have done? Let him run around killing people? No, she _saved_ them, she saved us. And for that, she was rewarded with memory loss.”

“And that sucks,” Simon said, crossing his arms. “You have no idea how much it had taken me to stop myself from dragging her to the Silent Brothers or—or Magnus, but I _don’t_ because that could backfire on her.” He let his arms fall to his side. “I know how you guys felt about each other, but you didn’t know her as long as I have. At least you still have Alec and Izzy. Everyone I used to know… I’ve lost to the Shadow World. My mom thinks I’m dead. Clary doesn’t remember me. I barely get to see Becky anymore. I’d give a lot to go back to the way things were, but I _can’t_ and it’s no use to think about the what ifs.”

Jace didn’t say anything for a while. “You know, I expected Alec to be the one I would have a hard time trying to convince.”

“Oh, no,” Izzy said. “You’ll still have a hard time with him. There’s no way he’ll approve of this ever.” She smirked. “And even less of a chance that he’ll let _Magnus_ help you. Which pretty much means you’re doomed.”

“Please,” Jace said, looking Simon and Izzy in the eyes. “Please. Just… can you hear what Magnus has to say before you turn me down?”

“You said please,” Simon said.

Jace rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you.”

“Alright,” Simon said with a grin. “But only because you said please. And,” he added quickly, “I’ll go along with this if you stop doing that _boop boop_ when we’re training.”

Jace gave him a look like _seriously?_ “You’ve got a month free of boops.”

“I’ll take it,” Simon said.

Izzy sighed. “Fine. We’ll go with you to talk to Magnus. They’re heading back here tomorrow anyway. I guess we can talk then.”

The idea was certifiably insane. Laughable even. And undoubtedly impossible. Nothing like it had ever been mentioned happening before and if it had been done before, Jace suspected it would have been something Valentine would have attempted even with his disdain for Downworlders.

When Alec and Magnus arrived—a great big portal in the middle of the Institute to announce their arrival—Jace wasted no time pulling them aside to his room and dragging Simon and Izzy with him.

“Absolutely not,” Alec said as soon as the idea left Jace’s mouth. “No way. You are _not_ doing that. Not even for Clary.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t do the same for Magnus?” Jace demanded.

Alec’s face flushed a light pink. “I’m saying that we can’t risk it. What you’re proposing has _never_ been done before, Jace. As much as I would love to change a lot of things—” his face darkened as he said that “—we just can’t risk it. I mean, let’s say we did manage to—to _time travel._ What if something goes wrong and we end up in the middle of Valentine’s hideout? What happens when he _tortures_ every detail about the future out of us?”

“I’d like to say I resent the fact that you think I’d let that happen, Alexander,” Magnus inputted. “As the one who would doubtlessly be casting the spell.”

Alec held up a finger. “That’s another thing. How do you know that this wouldn’t backfire on Magnus? It’s like you said, Jace. _No one’s ever done this before._ I can’t risk Valentine getting information out of us, nor can I risk Magnus’s life!”

Izzy leaned back against a wall and crossed one foot over the other. “Told you,” she said to Jace.

“Magnus, just tell me if it’s even possible,” Jace begged.

The warlock was silent for a moment. He seemed to be debating what to say while Alec frowned at him.

“It’s theoretically possible,” Magnus admitted. “And I can tell you it’s been an area of interest for the warlock community since… well, many, _many_ centuries ago. I’ve thought about it before too.”

“So you _could_ send me back,” Jace said.

Magnus sighed. “In theory like I said. There are many ways to approach time travel. A spell to slow down time around you so much that it moves backwards. Severing the mind and soul from your body and sending that back in time to your younger self’s body. Making a portal that transcends space and time. Good ideas in theory, but they all come with no small list of cons.”

Alec leaned forward. Even if he turned down the idea, he couldn’t say the theory didn’t intrigue him. “Like what?”

“Now you’re interested?” Magnus raised an eyebrow.

“Haha.”

Magnus held up his hands. “Alright. If you were to slow down time, you’d need a warlock with you to break the spell. The first problem is finding a warlock willing to risk their life like that. If the spell goes wrong, you’d both end up dead or going back through time for all eternity. The second problem is that you would essentially replace whatever version of you exists in the time you traveled to. The way the spell would work is protecting you from the changes of time, so Jace were to travel this way, he would appear as this version of Jace rather than that time’s Jace. Not so much a problem now, but in a few years if you attempted this, it would be rather obvious he’s not eighteen.”

“Okay, fine,” Jace said. “So that’s out. What about the other theories?”

“Severing the mind and soul?” Magnus asked. “Oh, there are a lot of problems there. One, that’s extremely dark magic and no warlock in his right mind would perform that for a Shadowhunter regardless of how friendly they are. Two, it would be near impossible to ensure that the mind and soul actually make it into the correct bodies. Three, by replacing the past mind and soul with a future mind and soul, you essentially kill the past mind and soul, so there’s some moral implications there. Four, you would erase the future you traveled from if done right. Again, moral implications. You’d be erasing billions of people from existence.”

Simon stared at Magnus. “Time travel is sounding less and less cool. Which is disappointing because it always looks cool in the sci-fi shows.”

“Hmm, yes, no time traveling police box or spaceships in real life,” Magnus agreed. “Though, the portal would be the closest you could get to that. Still, you run into problems there. By going the portal route, you wouldn’t be replacing your past self.”

“Meaning there would be two Jace’s running around,” Izzy said. “Which is one too many.”

“Hey!” Jace protested.

Izzy blew him a kiss.

“Yes,” Magnus said. “Two Jace’s. You’d have to be careful not to interact with your past self which means you would have a hard time changing anything. And, you’d be stuck there unless you had a warlock with you to open a portal back to your time. Which would be changed and you would have no recollection of the changes which is a problem in itself.” He paused. “And of course, you would have to focus on keeping anchored to your own memories. Otherwise, you become part of that world.”

“Like the alternate world Clary talked about,” Simon said.

“Exactly like that,” Magnus said.

Izzy frowned. “Wait. But then why isn’t that a risk with the other theories?”

“Because you don’t belong,” Magnus answered. “When Clary was in the alternate universe, both she and that universe’s Clary existed in the same body. However, our Clary didn’t belong in that world. Likewise, if there are two of you running around, in the past, only the past version of you belongs. In the other theories, there is only one of you, so you belong.”

“This is making my head hurt,” Simon groaned.

“What’s the best option then?” Jace asked.

Magnus sighed as Alec gave him a pointed look. “If I had to pick one? Severing the mind and soul. If you can live with basically killing your younger self.”

“I can do that,” Jace said. “So now what?”

“Now you torture yourself with what ifs,” Alec said. “You can’t do this. Did you _not_ hear all the things that could go wrong?”

“Think about all the things that could go right,” Jace said. “I can get Clary back, maybe prevent this idiot from going to Camille—” he jerked a finger at Simon.

“Hey!” Simon protested.

“—somehow talk you out of proposing to Lydia,” Jace continued. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll lock you in Magnus’s apartment. Oh, I can prevent myself from touching the damn Soul Sword. That would be nice. Maybe get Hodge before he betrays us. I mean, really, Alec, this is a solution.”

“A risky solution,” Alec said. “Did it occur to you that the angels were the ones to do this to Clary? You’d be going directly against them—”

“Don’t care,” Jace said. “I want to get Clary back.” He gave Alec a look. “Come on, man. She deserves better. I mean, what? She’s an art student who draws vague images of our past?” He took out his phone. “Look at this one. That’s your _wedding,_ Alec.” He held up the picture for Alec to see.

“Maybe,” Alec allowed. “But we just have to believe that she’ll remember again. Just wait—”

“I’m done waiting,” Jace said. He put his phone away and looked directly at Alec. “You know you’d do the same for Magnus or for Izzy. And I’m your _parabatai._ I’d stand by you.”

Alec looked at Magnus who shrugged. “Your choice, Alexander.”

“You have to make sure nothing happens to Magnus,” Alec said, looking back at Jace. “Okay? I mean, research this and make plans and everything. I don’t want anything to backfire on him.”

Jace broke into a grin. “Anything. I promise. No time travel until we’re absolutely sure.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Alec told Magnus.

Magnus smiled. “I know. But I do rather miss Biscuit. Things have gotten a lot less… exciting since she left.”

Alec snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t miss running around sneaking injured Downworlders into my apartment,” Magnus said. “Or the countless demon fights on the streets of New York.”

“Those actually still happen,” Izzy volunteered. “Not the injured Downworlder sneaking thing, the demon fights in the streets.”

Alec gave her a look. “So how do we do this?” he asked.

Magnus made a face. “I have to contact Lorenzo and Catarina.”

“Lorenzo?” Alec asked incredulously. “I mean, I know he’s less of an ass now, but…”

“He’s still the High Warlock of Brooklyn,” Magnus said. “And I’m going to need help casting the spell. Perhaps I should call Tessa too,” he mused. “Might as well. I’ll need her for this.” He turned to face the group. “In the meantime, I suggest you all organize a timeline of events and figure out the best time to travel to.”

“The day we met Clary at Pandemonium,” Izzy said. “I mean, that’s when it all started, right? We can go home with her, protect Jocelyn from the Circle, and take them back to the Institute.”

“She ran out of there like the place was on fire,” Alec said flatly. “We freaked her out. Besides, that’s too risky of a place to start. We can’t risk messing that mission up. If something happens and we end up arriving _during_ our fight with the demons…”

“Let me guess, bad?” Simon said. “So, I have a question. What happens to me if I go back? Because I’m a vampire right now. Daylighter. Whatever. If I go back, am I still mundane?”

“Well, not all of you can go back,” Magnus said.

“Excuse me?” Izzy asked.

Magnus sighed. “I can’t just send the five of us back like that. I’m not sure if you realize how much it will take for me to guide your souls and minds into the right bodies. Let alone keep them with their match. Two can go.”

“Jace and Simon,” Izzy said immediately. “They’re closest to Clary. Besides, then we can put an end to the love triangle, hmm? And the brother-sister thing too.”

“A good idea,” Magnus said. “Except the Daylighter. He can’t go.”

Simon’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“You said it yourself,” Magnus said. “We have no idea what it will be like for you. Not to mention the eternal question, _Do vampires have souls?_ It could be that you return only as a vampire. You won’t have angel blood in your veins to make you a Daylighter. And if you just happen to be standing in the sun…” He made a _poof_ gesture with his hands. “Good bye, Sherwin.”

Simon looked ill. “Oh. Time travel is sounding really not fun.”

“Jace and Alec then,” Izzy said. “They’re _parabatai._ It will be helpful to have them knowing about time travel. I mean, you do remember how weak your bond got? This could strain it further.”

“I can’t go,” Alec said. “I… I want to. Believe me, there are many things I’d like to do. But I can’t go back.”

Izzy gave him an understanding look. “Magnus.”

“I’m married,” Alec said. “To this Magnus. Not the past Magnus. We’ve been through a lot and if I just went back, I’m not sure I could wait around for _my_ Magnus to show up. It’s not even a guarantee. I just… it would be like I’m cheating on my _husband._ I can’t.”

“It would be like I never existed,” Magnus reminded him. “I wouldn’t exist. You wouldn’t be—”

“I just can’t,” Alec said. “It has to be Izzy and Jace. Not me.” He let out a breath. “Just… try not to let me make the same mistakes.”

Izzy reached out and squeezed Alec’s shoulder. “Okay. Knock some sense into you before you propose to Lydia. I can do that.”

“This will erase both of us,” Magnus said.

“Till death do us part.”

“If you guys start kissing, I’m going to throw you out a window,” Jace said.

Alec threw him a dirty look.

“I’m going to contact Lorenzo, Cat, and Tessa,” Magnus said. He pulled some paper out of a drawer.

“Don’t go through my stuff!” Jace protested.

Magnus ignored him and scrawled out three messages, sending them up in flames and flying out the window. “They’ll be here tomorrow. Eight.”

“You know that for a fact?” Alec teased.

Magnus puffed out his chest. “I’m the High Warlock of Alicante, Alexander. Of course they’ll come.”

“You really like lording that over Lorenzo, don’t you?”

“Just a bit.”

Alec grinned and leaned over to kiss Magnus when Jace interrupted with a loud cough. Alec sighed and turned to look at Jace. “I’m going to kick you out of your own room,” he said flatly.

Jace made a face. “Gross. Use Simon’s.”

“Whatever,” Alec said. “Jace, Izzy, make a list of everything that happened between meeting Clary and the wedding. Lydia and I’s wedding, I mean. Whenever it is you go back to, it’s going to be then. Actually, I’ll help you with that. Simon, you help Magnus gather whatever he needs for this.”

“We should be able to get everything except one thing,” Magnus said. “Hopefully, Tessa can give us that tomorrow.”

Simon frowned. “Who’s Tessa?”

“Warlock,” Alec answered.

“And a dear friend,” Magnus added. “You’re actually related to her,” he told Jace. “Through her son James Herondale.”

“So my great-great-great grandmother is helping me time travel,” Jace said. He sighed. “Great.”

* * *

“You’re insane.”

“Not quite yet.”

“You’ve made many foolish decisions, Bane, but this takes the cake.”

“It’s Lightwood-Bane, actually.”

“Are you even listening to what I said?”

Izzy and Simon’s heads swiveled back and forth between Lorenzo and Magnus as they argued about the time travel spell. Catarina and Alec were both discussing the spell in low tones, occasionally Alec would point to a spot on the paper and say something. Catarina would frown and nod, then jot something down. Jace looked like he was seconds away from strangling Lorenzo.

Tessa was the only one who looked lost. She had arrived halfway through Magnus and Lorenzo’s argument which had mostly evolved into insults rather than an actual argument.

“Okay, enough,” Alec finally said. “Hi, Tessa.”

She smiled warmly. “Hello, Alec. Magnus, I’m sorry, what’s going on?”

Magnus gave Lorenzo one last glare before he turned to face Tessa. A bright smile graced his face and if no one had witnessed the argument before, they might have assumed he and Lorenzo were having a friendly chat.

“Tessa!” Magnus cried. “We were just having an exciting conversation about time travel.”

The smile fell from her face. “Time travel?”

“We’re going to send Izzy and I back in time to save Clary and hopefully stop Valentine before he can do much,” Jace said.

“That’s why you need me,” Tessa said, shaking her head. “Eidolon blood.”

“Eidolon?” Simon repeated.

Tessa grimaced. “Dear old dad’s an eidolon demon. I’m a shapeshifter. Change. If you’re attempting time travel, you’re attempting change. Eidolon blood is a pretty important ingredient here.” She sighed. “I’ll help you Magnus, but you have to promise to be careful.”

Magnus threw his hands up in the air. “Why does everyone keep making me promise to be careful? As if I’d do anything short of perfection.”

“Because we all know you,” Catarina said, looking up from her notes with Alec. “And you’re the last person to show restraint when it comes to complicated spells that help people you care about.”

Magnus paused. “You… make a fair point.”

“I’m sorry, why are you all acting like this is a done deal?” Lorenzo interrupted. “I for one, am not going to humor you in your quest to unlock the secrets of time. There is a reason no one attempts this kind of magic, and if something were to go wrong we would be sent to the Gard or sentenced to death or stripped of runes,” he said, gesturing to the Shadowhunters. “Or the angels—which in case you’ve forgotten are the ones who you are trying to outsmart—might smite us all! No thank you.”

“Think of it as paying Magnus back for saving all our lives last year,” Alec said.

“I cleared my debt when I joined the rescue party,” Lorenzo said.

“Then think of it as returning the favor I did when I got you out of that chameleon prison,” Alec said.

“That was Catarina,” Lorenzo pointed out.

Alec crossed his arms unamused. “And she wouldn’t have known if I didn’t tell her.”

Lorenzo sighed. “Fine. I’ll help, but I don’t like this idea. If the Spiral Labyrinth found out about this—”

“They’d kill us?” Tessa guessed. “Just like the Clave or the angels? Not much of an increased threat there.”

“Whatever.” Lorenzo eyed Jace. “Don’t mess this up. I like my life. I would like my life to be very much the same. I also would like to keep my boyfriend.”

“You and Underhill will be invited to Alec and Magnus’s wedding, don’t worry,” Izzy assured him. “Even if you have no idea why.”

“I don’t suppose I get a choice in the matter?” Magnus asked.

“No,” Izzy and Lorenzo said.

“How far back are you going?” Catarina asked.

Izzy cleared her throat. “I was actually thinking about that. While it would be amazing to go back to the day we met Clary because we could also save Jocelyn from Valentine, it’s not practical. I think Jace and I might be disoriented a little and depending on when that day we end up, that could be bad. But if we went to the day _Lydia_ arrived, then any strangeness can be passed off as because of her arrival. It’s a good cover.”

“That’s a good idea,” Alec agreed. “But a lot of stuff happened that day.”

“The Forsaken attacks,” Jace remembered. “Hodge gets the ring to contact Valentine.”

“I died,” Simon added.

Izzy bit her lip. “Oh yeah. That’s when Raphael brought your body to us.”

“Hey,” Simon said. “I am surprisingly okay with becoming a vampire again. I just want to maybe not mess things up with my mom this time.”

“Keeping him a vampire is good,” Catarina said, nodding slowly. “And honestly, you might want to turn him into a Daylighter again. Think of it as a contingency plan if you can’t stop Lilith.”

Jace’s eyes flew wide. “Lilith! She could find out… everything from me.”

“Not if you don’t get yourself killed,” Alec said sharply.

“Come directly to me,” Magnus said. “If you _do_ get killed in the fight. Hopefully, I’ll be able to separate you from the Owl. If not, I can at the very least put you in a stasis similar to Jocelyn until Lilith is no longer a threat.”

“You _do_ actually have a plan,” Lorenzo said, looking mildly surprised.

“Half of a plan,” Tessa said. She frowned at Lorenzo. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”

“Lorenzo Rey,” Alec answered for the warlock. “High Asshole of Brooklyn.”

Tessa blinked. “You don’t like each other very much.”

“No,” Alec said.

“Not at all,” Magnus added.

“Nope,” Lorenzo said.

Catarina tried for a smile. “Isn’t it great to be working together?”

“Angel, help us,” Izzy muttered.

Probably not the best sentiment, all things considered, but if Lorenzo and Magnus managed not to kill each other, it would be a miracle.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent planning.

Magnus and Catarina spent hours drawing symbols on the floor of Jace’s room where they would be doing the ritual. Everything had to be perfect and since they didn’t have a master artist anymore, some of the runes and symbols had to be redrawn multiple times.

Lorenzo and Tessa busied themselves preparing the ingredients. According to Magnus, everything except the eidolon blood had to be mixed in a bowl in the middle of the circle of symbols he and Cat were drawing. Tessa’s blood would be the last ingredient to add before the warlocks took up the spell.

Jace and Izzy were going over the rough timeline of events they, Alec, and Simon had managed to piece together from memory and the Institute Archives.

“Raphael brings him by early morning,” Alec said, pointing to Simon. “So by the time you arrive back in time, it’s likely that you’ll already have found out about Simon. Lydia arrives as Valentine hours later. Maybe try to anticipate that so I’m not the only one she’s impressed with.”

“Except I’ll be with Clary the whole day,” Jace pointed out. “Because she couldn’t decide what to do about the mundane.”

“Not a mundane anymore,” Simon reminded him.

“Whatever.”

“According to the Archives, the Forsaken attack happened around ten that night,” Izzy reported. “There was an earlier attack at the Jade Wolf a couple hours after Lydia arrived. I’m not sure when, but Alec and Lydia went there around noon.” She hesitated. “Meliorn is arrested the next day. And so am I.”

“We still free Meliorn,” Jace said. “They’re going to arrest you, but Clary and I will be back with the Mortal Cup before that even happens. Once we find my ‘father’, I’m going to kill him and then give the Clave the Cup.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Alec warned. “Whatever Valentine has done, he’s still the man who raised you for years.”

“And Maryse and Robert finished the job,” Jace said. “And they did a lot better than Valentine. I can do it. I can.”

“Is everything set?” Tessa interrupted them. “Magnus is just finishing up.”

“Yeah,” Izzy said, taking a deep breath. “I think we’re good.”

“We’ve gone over the whole day,” Jace said. “Whenever we end up, we’ll be prepared.”

“You’ll need to clearly picture the time you want to end up in,” Magnus said.

“Right after Raphael brings us Simon,” Jace said.

Alec nodded slowly. “That’ll work. Picture that.”

“Got it,” Izzy said. “What do we do now?”

“After we activate the spell, you’ll need to step into the circle,” Lorenzo explained. “You cannot lose focus on your destination. There’s a failsafe. The spell can only take you back two years from today, but if you lose focus of your destination in time, you could end up two hours ago or the full two years ago or anywhere in between.”

“No pressure,” Simon muttered.

“Last chance to go back,” Tessa said.

Jace and Izzy locked eyes. “Let’s go.”

Tessa nodded. “Okay.” She picked up a knife and stepped into the circle to stand above the bowl of ingredients she and Lorenzo prepared. She sliced the palm of her hand with a hiss and let the blood drip down into the bowl. The blood sizzled as it landed. The contents of the bowl glowed orange. Tessa quickly backed out of the circle.

Magnus, Catarina, and Lorenzo took up a chant. “Dico potentiam autem Chronos. Et convertat rursus manus autem tempus. Ego repellam de consilio autem fata. Et mortale conscidisti necessitudines autem haec animarum. Mitto animo rursus propter tempus.”

Wind roared in their ears. The circle glowed to match the bowl. It was a poisonous orange looking color. A golden barrier rose up around the circle.

“Jace,” Tessa yelled over the chanting and the wind. “Step into the circle. Picture the time you want to end up in. Isabelle, follow him as soon as he steps into the circle.”

That was when everything went wrong.

As Jace stepped towards the barrier, his runes lit up with a gold to match. The lights started flickering and the room shook.

“Angels!” Simon warned.

“We need to stop!” Lorenzo called. His voice was strained as he tried to keep up the magic to contain the spell in the circle.

Magnus gritted his teeth. “Alexander! Pull him back!”

“I got it!” Jace yelled.

Alec cursed. “Dammit, Jace.” He reached for Jace’s arm and tried to pull him back.

“Let go, Alec!” Jace shouted. “I just have to get through the barrier!”

“You can’t!” Alec told him, tugging harder. “Get back, Jace!”

“No, Alec!”

“Yes!” Alec wrapped his arms around Jace and yanked his _parabatai_ back with all the strength he had. Jace went stumbling back into Izzy who toppled into Simon who managed to steady them. The force of pulling Jace away launched Alec in the opposite direction. Straight through the golden barrier and into the circle.

“Alexander!” Magnus shouted.

“Alec!” Izzy screamed.

Alec’s eyes went wide. He met Magnus’s gaze and then disappeared in a burst of orange.

“Don’t!” Tessa cried as Magnus dropped his hands and dove for the barrier. He disappeared in the same burst of orange.

“Damn you, Bane!” Lorenzo yelled.

“Get down!” Catarina shouted.

A second nature instinct, the Shadowhunters immediately dropped to the ground. Tessa and Simon were still in various states of shock, but they recovered their senses quick enough to follow the Shadowhunters’ lead. Lorenzo and Catarina weren’t so lucky.

An orange flash lit up the room and the energy from the spell blasted outward, sending the two warlocks crashing into the walls. Then, it was silent.

Izzy was the first to react. “Is everyone okay?”

“Nothing magic can’t fix,” Catarina mumbled. She closed her eyes. “Maybe a small concussion. My wrist is broken.”

Lorenzo held a hand over a gash on his head. The wound slowly healed with magic, but it was obvious that the warlock was pretty drained of power.

“What happened?” Simon asked.

Tessa stared at the spot where Alec and Magnus disappeared. “They’re gone.”

“They weren’t ready to go in,” Izzy worried. “Will they even end up back in time or are they…?”

“I don’t know,” Catarina said. She was still sitting on the ground where the blast had knocked her. “I don’t know.”

“He shouldn’t have done that,” Jace said.

Izzy frowned at him. “Yes. He should have. You wouldn’t listen, Jace! Clary fought back against the angels’ resistance and look where that got her.” She looked at Lorenzo. “Is there any way to know for sure if they made it?”

Lorenzo sighed. He pushed himself to his feet. “Time takes time to harden. If they’ve made it back successfully, the world as we know it will cease to exist. Considering they could only have gone back two years, that could take a few minutes to a few seconds.”

“Seconds,” Tessa said quietly, peering out a window. “Look.”

Outside the window, things were fading away. People, trees, buildings.

“Guess we’re about to find out how the Avengers felt,” Simon said.

Izzy shot him an inquisitive look.

_“Infinity War?”_ Simon said. “Thanos does that snap. Dusts half the population?” He shook his head. “I’m going to need to watch a lot of movies with you people.”

“Not much time for that,” Lorenzo said. He held up his hands which were already starting to fade. “I guess we know they succeeded.”

No one said anything else as they faded away and disappeared. As if they had never existed in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my first time travel fic, but my first Shadowhunters fic! Quick explanation, this will primarily be set in the TV show world, but I do plan to incorporate aspects from the books.
> 
> The spell translation is roughly: "I call upon the power of Chronos. I turn back the hands of time. I reject the design of the Fates. I sever the mortal ties of these souls. I send their minds back through time." Forgive me, my Latin is nonexistent and google translate was not working with me, so I translated a lot of that word by word. Which is not really how translations work. And orange symbolizes change hence the orange color.
> 
> I'll be doing twice a week updates for this story. I'm thinking Monday and Thursday/Friday. And I'm pretty sure it's ten chapters. Maybe eleven. But ten for sure.
> 
> Hope you like this so far!


	2. Have a Drink With Me

_ I would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. _

_ -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings _

Alec opened his eyes. He remembered flashes of the disastrous attempt to time travel. It had all happened so fast.

The sound of a drink being poured—over a year of living with Magnus made that sound  _ very _ recognizable—broke him from his thoughts.

“You know I have magic for that, right?” a familiar voice asked.

Alec looked up to see Magnus holding two glasses. But it wasn’t exactly Magnus. His hair for one was bleached on the ends, something Alec hadn’t seen Magnus do in a year.

He glanced down at the couch he was kneeling next to. It was stained with blood.

_ If I’ve gone back in time, _ Alec through,  _ then this must be something I remember. Blood on the couch… What was that? Luke. It was Luke. _

“Alexander?” Magnus asked when it became clear Alec wasn’t answering.

Alec cleared his throat. “I think you’ve exerted yourself enough for one day.”

“Drink break?” Magnus said, offering a glass.

Alec let out a breath, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He dropped the bloody towel he didn’t know he was holding onto the couch and stood up. He walked around the couch and accepted the glass from Magnus.

Magnus snapped his fingers and a blue smoke appeared on the surface of Alec’s drink.

“To us,” he said, holding up his glass for Alec to clink.

Alec looked at Magnus. “To us,” he repeated, hitting his glass against Magnus’s.

Magnus’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. But he lifted his drink to his mouth and took a sip, Alec doing the same despite knowing the drink wasn’t his favorite.

Magnus choked. He coughed, spitting his drink out.

“You okay?” Alec asked.

Magnus set his glass down. He looked at Alec. “Alexander! It’s, ah, nothing. Just… don’t attempt dangerous spells while drinking.”

“Dangerous spells like time travel?” Alec asked. He bit back a smile when Magnus gave him a startled look like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Exactly like that,” Magnus finally said.

“You came after me.”

“Of course I did,” Magnus said. “I wouldn’t send you alone.”

“What happened?” Alec asked.

“You managed to pull Jace back, but the momentum carried you into the circle,” Magnus answered. “So I went after you. Without my help containing the magic, the spell would have ended soon after.”

Alec let out a breath. “So instead of Jace and Izzy going…”

“It was us,” Magnus finished. “Yes.”

A ring interrupted them.

Alec pulled his phone out. “It’s my mother.”

“Well, I’d advise against telling her you’re here,” Magnus said. He picked up a new glass with a new drink and took a sip. “As I recall she’s not exactly my number one fan.”

“Yet,” Alec said. He answered the phone. “Hey. Hi, Mother.”

Magnus turned away to give Alec some semblance of privacy.

“Of course,” Alec said. He hung up the phone. “So apparently I’m needed back at the Institute soon.” He pocketed his phone. “But I do remember that I didn’t miss much when I fell asleep on the couch, so I’m thinking it’s not that urgent.”

“Are you sure?” Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“One hundred percent,” Alec said.

The door to the bedroom burst open. Alec and Magnus started when they saw who was standing there. Really, they should have expected this. It was the whole reason they attempted this in the first place.

Clary hurried over excitedly. “Where’s Jace?”

“Clary,” Alec said in astonishment.

Clary gave him a strange look. “Uh, yeah. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Magnus said quickly. “Drink? Non-alcoholic, of course.”

Clary shook her head. “No. I just… I need to tell you guys something. Where’s Jace?”

“Here,” Jace said, entering the room. “Had to step out for a second.”

Alec’s stomach clenched. It was supposed to be Jace here. Not even here, here. It should have been tomorrow.

“I know where the cup is,” Clary declared.

Jace frowned. “Come again?”

“The tarot cards,” Clary explained. “My mom, she must have painted them years ago, but the Mortal Cup has to be hidden inside the Ace of Cups. The card looks exactly like it.”

Jace looked at Magnus like he was inquiring if that was possible, but Magnus didn’t notice.

Clary’s face fell. “Wait, why aren’t you guys happy about this? All we have to do is find… Dot.”

“If Dot had the cards when she was taken, we don’t have much time,” Jace said. “If Valentine gets his hands on the Cup—”

“We’d know,” Magnus said. “If Valentine started creating Shadowhunters or gained control of demons, it'd be like Beyonce riding on a dinosaur through Times Square. People would notice.”

Alec struggled to hide a smile.

“But he  _ can _ control demons,” Clary insisted. “I’ve seen it.”

Magnus hummed. “Paying off a few demons is easy, especially since they rarely survive long enough to collect.”

“Still waiting on Valentine’s thank-you card,” Jace smirked.

“Opening the gates of hell,” Magnus said with a grimace. “That’s a little more tricky.” He and Alec exchanged a brief look, recalling Jonathan using the Morningstar Sword to do exactly that and the resulting sacrifice.

“Valentine doesn’t have the cards,” Luke said, walking out of the bedroom. “I do.” He was covered in gauze and bandages. “They’re in my desk back at the precinct. When Clary went missing, I went to the loft and I cleared everything out, 'cause I didn't want the Circle to track her.”

Clary smiled. “That’s great. This should be easy.”

“That’s what General Custer said,” Magnus said.

Alec glanced at him. “Do you ever not name drop?”

Magnus shrugged. “Alexander, what is the point of knowing famous people through history if I can’t name drop a little?”

“Just thought you said you weren’t one to name drop,” Alec said.

“Touche.”

Luke glanced between them. “Either way, Magnus is right. Valentine has spies everywhere, even in the NYPD. We have to be discreet.”

“Discreet?” Clary repeated. “You look like something out of  _ The Mummy _ movie.”

Magnus tittered. Clary gave him a look.

“We’ll go in the morning,” Luke said. “Werewolf healing, remember?”

Jace shrugged. “That’s true.”

“This is nothing a couple hours of beauty sleep can’t fix,” Luke finished.

“Should make a plan,” Alec said.

Jace’s eyes immediately flew to Alec. “Wait. No,  _ I don’t approve of this mission _ or anything? I mean, you’re on board with this?”

“We don’t need—” Alec cut himself off. He had been about to say they didn’t need approval, but considering he wasn’t the Inquisitor—yet—they actually did need approval. “It’s the Mortal Cup,” he said instead. “We can’t risk it falling into Valentine’s hands.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Jace said.

“So we need a plan,” Alec said.

“You don’t need to overthink this, Alec,” Luke told him. “I’ll go in, grab the cards from my desk, and bring them out to Clary.”

“And if that goes wrong?” Alec prompted. Because that  _ had _ been the plan. And it  _ did _ go wrong.

“Why would that go wrong?” Clary asked.

Alec pinched his face. “Because things can go wrong.”

“No one except us knows about the cards,” Clary said. “It won’t be suspicious.”

“I’m just saying,” Alec said. “It’s the Mortal Cup. We can't take any chances.”

“I’m with Alexander on this,” Magnus said. “You’ll need some type of plan.”

Clary looked at him. “Wait. You could get it. Do your—” she waved her hands around trying to mimic Magnus’s magic “—and get the Cup.”

“You want  _ me _ to go after the Cup?” Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow. “Me? Demons, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, seelies, and Circle members are after the Cup and you’re going to trust a warlock you met a  _ day _ ago?”

“Can I trust you?” Clary asked challengingly.

Magnus shrugged. “Yes. Of course, that’s what a Circle member would say if you asked them too.”

Alec sent him a look. “Thank you for that.”

“Of course.”

“We can’t send Magnus in,” Jace said. “He’ll stick out like… well, like that.”

Magnus struck a pose. “I am fabulous.”

“And he has no reason to go to the station,” Jace continued. “I say we send Luke in. If that falls through, Clary and I can go in glamoured.”

“I’m going to head back to the Institute,” Alec said. “And I’m going to meet you at the station with Izzy for back up.”

“Excellent,” Magnus said, clasping his hands together. “And now, you get back to bed,” he ordered Luke. “I won’t have my talents go to waste if you keel over and die of exhaustion. The rest of you too,” he added. “I know Shadowhunters prefer to operate at night, but you’re seriously doing no one good if you’re exhausted. Especially since you’ll have to be awake during—horror—the daytime.”

“Haha,” Clary said sarcastically. “Come on, Luke.”

She guided him back to the bedroom despite Luke’s protests of “I can walk by myself.”

“Too bad. I’m helping you.”

That left Jace, Alec, and Magnus. The blonde Shadowhunter glanced at Alec. “Are you heading back to the Institute now then?”

Alec blinked. “What?”

“Are you heading back to the Institute?” Jace repeated.

“I, uh… Well, I was—”

“I think what Alexander means is he’s quite insistent on cleaning up my couch the mundane way so I don’t exert my magic any more than I already have,” Magnus suggested.

Jace’s eyes darted between them. “Huh.” He turned and followed after Clary and Luke.

Alec let out a breath. “Thanks.”

“Well, it must be quite strange to go from being the Inquisitor to a lowly Shadowhunter,” Magnus said. “And of course the fact that according to everyone else, we’ve only just met the other day.”

“Damn,” Alec sighed. “I forgot that. The memory demon. That was yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“That was yesterday,” Magnus confirmed.

Alec rubbed his neck. “Izzy’s going to be all over me about that. How am I supposed to explain that, oh, I don’t have feelings for my  _ parabatai _ anymore—never did. I’m actually in love with the High Warlock of Brooklyn—who she thinks I met a day ago—because, surprise, both of us are from the future and we’re actually married in that future?” He took the drink Magnus was offering him, downed it in one gulp, and winced. “What was that? That was awful.”

“Calming potion,” Magnus said, taking the glass back. “You needed it.”

Alec pulled a face. “Thanks.”

“Let’s look on the bright side,” Magnus said. “We get an excuse to spend lots of time together. Oh, and we can get married again so I’ll have  _ two _ days to spoil you.”

“Or we could get married on the  _ same _ day as before,” Alec said.

Magnus frowned. “But that’s boring.”

“It’s practical,” Alec pointed out. He cleared his throat. “But… Look, Lydia’s arriving tomorrow, right? So I’m supposed to propose to her tomorrow night, but I’m  _ not _ going to do that.” He rubbed his face. “I should not be panicking about this. I’m a twenty-three—”

“Twenty-one right now,” Magnus said.

“—year old man who’s married to a male warlock,” Alec said. “I came out to my parents by leaving my bride at the altar to kiss you in front of the whole Institute. So really, I don’t even need to worry about how to tell my parents. I mean, we know they both… hate you. A lot. But they get over that.”

“Eventually,” Magnus said.

“Eventually,” Alec repeated. “Why am I stressed at all about this?”

“Because the Alec of this time is stressed out,” Magnus explained. “I mean that you’re aware of how you ignored your feelings around this time. You  _ should _ be feeling this way, but due to our time traveling, you don’t. It might happen with other things, but the longer we stay in this time, the less it will affect us.”

“And you’re only mentioning this now?”

“Well I designed the spell to mostly protect Isabelle and Jace from these effects, not you or I,” Magnus said. “Besides, I figured they would come to me for help eventually. Then it could be a headache for not-me to explain. But since it is… You must have noticed how flustered you’ve been around me. That would be because without the time travel thing, Alec Lightwood was quite stammery around me during this time.”

“Shut up,” Alec grumbled.

“It was endearing and cute,” Magnus said. “Almost as cute as your adorable little snores.”

“I told you I don’t snore,” Alec said.

Magnus furrowed his brow. “No, I’m pretty sure you do.”

Alec blew out a breath. “Whatever. I’m going to rest now because I’m exhausted. But tomorrow, when you come for the Forsaken autopsy, we are going to figure out what to do next because Jace and Clary are going to run into Valentine within the next week and that’s a pressing issue.”

Magnus snapped his fingers. “Well, there you go. A nice clean couch for you to sleep on. And don’t worry about Valentine, Alexander. He’ll get his due.”

Alec sank down onto the couch. “I told you not to exert yourself.”

“You should know by now I’m a terrible listener,” Magnus said.

“I do know that.”

Magnus flopped gracefully onto the couch opposite Alec. “Goodnight, Alexander.”

Alec’s lips pulled up into a small smile. “Goodnight, Magnus.”

* * *

In the morning, Magnus offered them waffles. Also known as waffles casually stolen from some poor mundane’s house or hotel. Clary and Alec both took Magnus up on the offer while Luke and Jace declined, the latter saying he wasn’t hungry.

As they were going to leave, Magnus stopped them.

“Oh, Alexander,” he called.

Alec turned. “Yeah?”

“I was wondering, would you like to go out for drinks sometime?” Magnus asked.

Alec could hear Jace choking behind him and he could practically feel Clary’s gaze as she waited for him to answer, no doubt expecting a negative one.

“I, uh…” Alec cursed whatever it was about time traveling to his past that caused him to stutter around Magnus.

_ Think about the phone call, _ he thought.  _ How did you respond to that? _

“Yeah,” he finally managed to spit out. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

Magnus beamed. “Excellent. I’ll text you. Now off you go to save the day!” He ushered them out of the loft and shut the door.

Alec brushed past Clary, Jace, and Luke to the elevator. No one said anything until the elevator doors closed around them.

“I’m confused,” Jace finally said. “Did Magnus just ask you out? And did you just  _ accept _ his offer?”

Clary elbowed him. “I think it’s nice.”

“It’s random,” Jace said. “And out of character for Alec. Izzy’s the one that goes out with Downworlders. Alec goes out with… actually, have you ever—”

“No,” Alec lied. It wasn’t like he could say he’d been on hundreds of dates with Magnus. “Is it a problem, Jace?”

“No,” Jace said, shaking his head. “No, not a problem at all.”

“Good.”

The elevator doors dinged open. Luke was the first one out. He seemed to be relieved to escape the conversation  _ and _ the elevator.

“I’ll head back to the Institute to get Izzy caught up,” Alec said. “If you need back up, we’ll be on call.” He moved to start heading back in the direction of the Institute.

Clary ran after him. “Alec, wait!” She pulled his arm. “I just want to make sure you aren’t… This isn’t about what I said, is it?”

“What do you mean?” Alec asked.

Clary bit her lip. “About Jace. About how you, you know.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “No. It’s not about Jace. I don’t actually like him like that. Anymore. We’re just brothers. But I happen to know he really likes you,” he said. “So… don’t ignore how you feel about him. Jace is stubborn and kind of a jerk, but he’s happier since you…”

“Party crashed your lives?” Clary suggested.

“More like plowed into us like a trainwreck,” Alec said.

Clary smiled. “I’m growing on you.”

“In your dreams, Fray,” Alec said. He shook his head. “I’ll see you later. Go get the Cup.”

Clary didn’t lose her smile all the way back to Luke and Jace.

“What was that about?” Jace asked, watching Alec disappear down the street.

Clary looked back. “Not sure. But I think we’re starting to tolerate each other more.”

Jace snorted. “The day Alec shows an ounce of care for you is the day I go feed the ducks.”

“Feed the ducks?” Clary repeated. “Is that some Shadowhunter code?”

“If it is, I’ve never heard of it,” Luke said.

Jace scowled. “I hate ducks. They’re… I don’t know, but there’s something unnatural about them.”

Clary burst into laughter.

“Shut up,” Jace grumbled. He pulled out his phone which was ringing. “Hey, Izzy.”

_ “Where are you? Where’s Alec? Dad was just looking for him. He’s supposed to be filling out incident reports. I said I’d do it, but where is he?” _

“We just left Magnus’s,” Jace said. “Alec’s on his way to the Institute now. Clary and I have a lead on the Cup.”

_ “You do? Where?” _

Jace glanced around. “I’ll let Alec fill you in. Listen, there’s something strange going on with Alec. I don’t… He’s just acting weird.”

_ “Weird how?” _

“Magnus asked him out,” Jace said in a bewildered voice. “For drinks some time.”

_ “A hot guy asked our brother out? Jace, are you sure you aren’t just jealous that Magnus called Alec ‘pretty boy’ and not you? Besides, I didn’t think Magnus was your type.” _

“I didn’t think he was Alec’s type either until Alec accepted!”

_ “Alec what?” _

“Exactly. I mean, I don’t care. Alec’s my  _ parabatai _ and my brother. I’ll always love him, but—”

_ “You didn’t expect him to be so bold like that. Yeah, me neither.” _

“You don’t sound surprised.”

_ “Alec accepting a guy’s offer for drinks and a date? No, not surprising. Accepting it in front of you and Clary? Yeah. Super surprising. But I don’t see how this is a problem. I’m proud of him for this.” _

“It’s not just that,” Jace said. “It’s also the fact that he’s okay with this unauthorized mission.”

_ “Now that sounds off.” _

“Just keep an eye on him,” Jace said. “I don’t want something bad to happen.”

_ “Okay. Good luck with the mission.” _

“Thanks, Izzy.” Jace hung up the phone.

Luke led Jace and Clary as they walked up to the outside of the police station. Sirens wailed and officers roamed around. Luke turned to look at them.

“All right,” he said, “cards are on my desk. It shouldn’t take long.”

Jace started forward. “All right.”

Luke put up a hand to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. It’ll be easier to avoid unnecessary attention if I do this alone.”

“We’ll wait here,” Clary said.

Jace crossed his arms. “It sounded boring anyway.”

They watched as Luke headed into the building.

* * *

A while later, Luke still wasn’t back out yet.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Clary said. If Simon were here, he probably would have made a joke about quoting every  _ Star Wars _ movie ever. “What is taking him so long?”

Jace leaned against one of the police cars. “I know a way we could find out. Just go in and see for ourselves.”

“Luke told us to stay put, so that’s what we’re gonna do,” Clary said. Her cell phone started ringing. “That’s probably him now.”

“I doubt it,” Jace said, eyes on something in the building.

Clary looked at the caller ID. Simon. It was like he had known she just thought about him. Clary hesitated before hitting decline.

“Just so I’m clear,” Jace said, still looking at the building, “he did mention something about trying to avoid attention, right? From the looks of it, he’s doing a terrible job.”

Clary followed his gaze to see Luke being escorted by a few other men. “Circle members?”

“No,” Jace said after a moment of looking. “Mundanes. Internal affairs officers.”

“You can tell all that just by looking at them?” Clary asked in disbelief.

“I can tell all that by reading their badges.”

Clary’s head whipped back to squint through the window at the IA officers. She couldn’t see their badges let alone read them.

Jace rolled up his sleeve and showed her a rune. “Better than binoculars.” He rolled the sleeve back down. “Luke had his chance.”

“Yeah,” Clary agreed.

“Let’s go.” Jace started towards the door.

“Wait,” Clary said. “Shouldn’t we call Alec and Izzy?”

“Yeah,” Jace said. “After we ask Luke a few questions.”

Clary frowned. “How are we supposed to do that? IA won’t let us  _ near _ Luke.”

Jace smirked. “That’s why we go in glamoured.”

“Glamour doesn’t work on Valentine’s people,” Clary said.

“Don’t need it to,” Jace said. “We just need it to work on IA so they can’t see us. Shadowhunters talk to Downworlders working in the mundane world like this all the time. I promise you no one will think anything of it.”

Clary hesitated. “Fine.” She and Jace activated their runes and entered the police station.

“He’ll be down here,” Clary said, leading Jace to the interrogation rooms.

One of the doors opened and Clary peered in. It was the room Luke was in.

“—coffee or anything?” the IA officer was asking Luke.

Clary and Jace slipped in the room. Luke’s eyes followed them.

“Garroway,” the officer said sharply.

Luke looked back at him. “Coffee? No. No, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself,” the officer said, shutting the door as he left.

Luke picked up a tissue and held it up like he was wiping his nose. “Camera,” he muttered.

Jace unplugged the camera.

“Luke, what is going on?” Clary asked.

“I think I’m about to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation,” Luke answered.

Clary sighed. “What do we do?”

“Get the cards,” Luke told them. “In my desk, bottom drawer.”

“All right,” Jace said, heading for the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Luke said, halting him. “You can't glamour yourselves. I'm not the only Downworlder on the force, and we don't know who's working for Valentine. If anybody spots you…”

Clary grimaced. “We’d be leading them right to the Mortal Cup.”

Luke nodded. “Exactly. Better to assume that everybody has the Sight than gamble that they don't.”

The door lock clicked.

“Luke,” Clary said.

“I can handle myself,” Luke assured her.

The door opened. Clary and Jace snuck out as the IA officer came back in.

“Hey, what happened to the camera?” he asked.

Luke smiled. “I’ve asked the same thing for years.”

* * *

Alec entered the Institute and headed straight for his sister. Izzy was fiddling with one of the computer screens.

“Slept at Magnus’s place?” she asked, turning to face him.

Alec was taken aback by his sister’s choice of clothes before remembering this was still when she had decided to grow up to take some of the heat off of Alec. Not that it did much since Alec went along with the political marriage anyway and Izzy stopped dressing like their mother shortly after.

“Didn’t do much sleeping,” Alec said. “I was helping treat Luke’s wounds and then cleaning blood off the couch, not that Magnus let me do that for long. He magicked all the blood away despite having drained himself healing Luke.”

Izzy had a funny smile on her face. “And what’s this about a date?”

Alec stopped. “Jace called you?”

“Yes, he did,” Izzy said, dragging Alec out of the main area and down through the hallways for more privacy. “And I think it’s great. I guess that means no more moping about Jace?”

Alec gave her a look. “I did not mope. And… no. Besides, I realized that while Jace is great and all, I didn’t actually love him. Not like that. He was just safe because he was impossible and I wouldn’t have to deal with mom and dad.”

Izzy looked excited. “So what changed? I thought you’d be stuck as a single pringle for the rest of your life!”

“Single pringle?” Alec repeated. “Is that some mundane thing you heard from the Day—from the mundane?” He internally winced at his slip up. Simon wasn’t a vampire yet, so he wasn’t a Daylighter either.

“Nope,” Izzy said. “But you didn’t answer my question. What changed? Magnus? I mean, Jace said he asked you out and you said  _ yes _ .”

Alec looked away from Izzy. “Maybe. I… I kinda like Magnus, okay? He made cocktails and we talked for a while. Then he asked me out before we left this morning and I said yes. Just don’t tell mom or dad yet.”

Izzy placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Of course. I’ve kept this secret for years, Alec. You know I’d never tell anyone unless you said I could.” She hugged him. “I’m so happy for you, though. I think Magnus likes you too. Well, obviously, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked, but you know what I mean.”

“I do know,” Alec said. “Thanks, Izzy.”

She smiled. “This is nice.”

“What is?” Alec asked.

“Talking about personal stuff,” Izzy said. Her smile faltered. “I broke up with Meliorn.”

Alec wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. “You did? Why?”

“He was a bit much,” Izzy said, sounding indifferent. “Apparently, I need someone more Shadowhunter-ish.”

“Izzy,” Alec said, “I realize that you’re trying to take some of the family heat, and I appreciate it, but you can’t change who you are.”

Izzy nodded slowly. “No, I guess you can’t.” She smoothed out her dress and looked at Alec. “So what’s this about an unauthorized mission you actually approve of?”

“Jace told you that too?”

“Jace told me everything,” Izzy said. “Now, fill me in. What are we doing?”

“Waiting for Clary and Jace to call in case they need help with retrieving the Mortal Cup,” Alec said.

Izzy gasped. “They found it?”

“Hopefully, we can get it back to the Institute today,” Alec said.

“Just in time for you to go on a date,” Izzy said, winking.

Alec shook his head. “Haha. You’re hilarious. Are you going to be like this all the time?”

“Just when we’re alone,” Izzy said, sauntering down the halls. “I’m going to get dressed in case they need us.”

“Aren’t you already dressed?” Alec asked.

Izzy sighed. “Alec. A pencil skirt is  _ not _ functional for fighting demons. I’ll need a pantsuit.”

“You sound like Magnus.”

“Hey, at least you know we’ll get along.” Izzy disappeared into her room.

Alec shook his head fondly. “Yeah. At least you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone needs to just listen to Alec more.
> 
> Anyway, if anyone's interested, I found [this calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/embed?src=a18h3e722im8esrn4982f864c4@group.calendar.google.com&mode=week&dates=20160821/20160827) by Malec-Crazed Author on tumblr that has most of the events of the TV show mapped out. It's what I'm using as a reference guide for this story. If you know me, you know I love having my timelines for canon events. Obviously events won't necessarily follow it exactly later on, but for now, they're pretty much lined up. This chapter was the end of episode 01x06 into 01x07 and all that lines up with the times and date in the calendar.
> 
> Last thing, yes, eleven chapters. I wasn't sure before, but I ended up writing an eleventh chapter, so... Yeah.


	3. The Best Laid Plans of Time Travelers and Men

_Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan._

_-Leonard Snart, The Flash (TV 2014)_

“Really? In here?”

“Why not?”

“There’s got to be a better place.”

“No, here’s good.”

It was kind of disorienting to be invisible. Clary could see Jace and she knew he could see her, but at the same time, it was like looking at something that didn’t belong.

“Ow! All right.” Jace shimmered lightly as his glamour dropped.

Clary tried to undo the glamour again, but failed.

“You need help with that?” Jace asked.

“I can deglamorize myself, Jace.” She tried again. Fail.

“It’s ‘deglamour’,” Jace said.

“Whatever.” Clary tried again, succeeding this time. She tilted her chin up like she hadn’t just been struggling. “The cards?”

Jace gave her a patronizing look. “Right. How exactly are we gonna get them? I doubt we can make it out of this closet without drawing attention, let alone Luke's desk and you are  _ covered  _ in runes.”

Clary gave him a wide smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”

Jace raised an eyebrow. “A good plan this time?”

“90%,” Clary said. “Just follow my lead. Oh, and I apologize.”

Jace frowned. “Apologize for what?”

“The other 10%,” Clary said.

She led Jace to where Luke’s desk was. There were a few police officers milling around. Clary bit her lip to keep from smirking. Jace wouldn’t know what hit him.

She spun around. “You son of a bitch!” she said loudly, slapping Jace’s face.

Jace’s hand flew up to his cheek and he stared at Clary with an open mouth.

“Stop following me!” Clary said.

“Hey, what happened to being discreet?” Jace whispered. “Hmm?”

Clary pulled away. “Wait, what did you say? You  _ cheated _ on me?” She really hoped Jace understood what she was doing because while it had been fun to surprise him with that slap, it wouldn’t be fun to have to run away without the Mortal Cup.

“I… Huh?” Jace gapped. “I did not,” he told the two police officers as he tried to push past them. “Whoa.”

“You will never see me at your crappy apartment again,” Clary yelled, storming over to Luke’s desk and opened a drawer. Detective Vargas walked in to stand next to her.

“That girl means nothing to me,” Jace said. “Nothing.”

“Is that the boyfriend that I heard so much about?” Vargas asked Clary.

Jace waved. “Hi.”

“Nope, not anymore,” Clary said. She closed the drawers of Luke’s desk. “I’m dumping him. Where is all of Luke’s stuff?”

“IA took everything,” Vargas said. “What are you looking for?”

_ Not the Mortal Cup, that’s for sure, _ Clary’s brain screamed.

“I, uh… I lost a house key and Luke normally keeps a spare in his desk, so is there any way I can get it?” Clary lied.

Vargas shook her head. “Uh, not till he's cleared.”

Clary’s heart dropped. “Cleared? Of… of what?”

“Oh, don't worry about it. We'll get it handled.”

“Oh.”

“Clary, I’m sorry,” Jace called from the doorway. “I apologize. I just want you to know it only happened, like… two or… It just happened a couple of times and I am totally…”

“Shut up,” Clary and Vargas said.

“Babe, come on,” Jace said.

“Listen, you don't get to call her ‘babe,’ okay?” Vargas said. “In fact, you don't get to call her at all. Clary's done with you. You got it? Take him out,” she ordered the two police officers holding Jace.

“I have rights!” Jace called as he was pulled away.

Vargas gave Clary a sympathetic look. “Perhaps it’s for the best.” She nodded to Clary’s neck. “Matching tattoos. That’s… Big red flag.”

“Oh,” Clary said, laughing nervously. “This… It’s nothing.”

“Don't worry about it,” Vargas said. “I get it. You always fall for the bad boys, right? Oh, is that just me? Uh, right, right.” She laughed awkwardly.

“Uh… I really need that key,” Clary tried again.

Vargas shook her head. “I'm sorry, Clary, but IA has all of Luke's things in the evidence vault upstairs.”

“Oh.”

“Maybe I can help you find the one you lost. Did you check your bag?”

Clary looked down and made a show of looking over her bag. “Oh, my God! You're totally right. Thank you so much.” She laughed. “Bye.”

Clary dashed out of the room to find Jace. She caught up to him just as he was approaching the doors.

“You know what?” Jace asked. “I’m gonna bring Alec with me next time. I don’t think he’s ever slapped me in the face.”

Clary sighed. “I’m sorry, I panicked.”

“Someone call for backup?” Izzy’s voice chirped.

Jace turned around to see Izzy and Alec. “Yeah. What too you guys so long?”

Alec’s face flushed a light pink and Izzy smirked.

“Just a little brother-sister heart-to-heart,” Izzy said. “So where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Jace asked.

“The Cup!” Izzy whisper-yelled. “Alec said you had a lead on it.”

“We found it,” Clary said, “but then we lost it. We have to sneak back in the precinct to get it.”

“How did you lose the Cup?” Alec asked.

Clary frowned. “Hey, I thought we were doing good now.”

“That was before you lost the Cup,” Alec said. “What happened?”

“IA has it,” Jace said. “But it’ll be fine. We just need a plan. That’s all.”

“Can’t we just glamour ourselves?” Izzy said.

“We tried that already,” Jace said.

“Anyone working with Valentine will see right through it,” Alec added.

“Too bad Magnus couldn’t help,” Clary said pointedly.

“Like he said, you’ve only known him for a day,” Alec said.

Clary crossed her arms. “I grew up knowing him. Maybe I don’t  _ remember _ it, but I’ve met him before. And says the guy who’s going out on a  _ date _ with him. You’ve only known him one day too.”

“Two days now,” Alec said. “And that’s different. Besides, warlock’s don’t exactly charge credit cards. Not that you’d have enough on your credit card to afford Magnus’s prices.”

Clary’s phone rang. She sighed. “Not again. Just give me a second.”

She stepped away to answer the phone. “Simon, this is really not a good time.”

_ “Clary, where are you? This is an emergency.” _

“Simon, are you okay?”

_ “I’m not sure. I haven’t been kidnapped yet today.” _

“Simon, seriously, what's going on?”

_ “I think I’m sick. Like, really sick.” _

Clary sighed. “Simon, remember that time you thought you had the bird flu? Okay, just stay off the Internet and you'll be fine.”

_ “Yeah, I know. But this time it’s different.” _

Jace marched over and took the phone from Clary.

“Hey,” she protested.

_ “This time I’m really—” _

Jace hung up the phone. “Simon’s little problem can wait. I’ve got a great plan.”

“Oh, there's a first.”

Jace laughed sarcastically. “Just follow my lead. Oh, and don't worry, in my plan, no one gets slapped.”

Clary shot him a dirty look.

They headed back in, Clary noticed that Izzy and Alec were nowhere to be seen.

“So, I was promised a great plan,” she said as Jace pressed the button to call the elevator.

Jace nodded. “We'll head up towards the vault. Alec and Izzy are handling the rest. All we have to do is wait for their signal…”

Both of them dashed around the corner as the elevator doors opened to reveal Alaric. When the werewolf was gone, they headed back to the elevator and slipped in.

“…and grab the cup,” Jace finished.

“He’s on our side,” Clary said.

Jace looked at her. “You sure? Isn't that the line he used when he kidnapped you?”

“Good point,” Clary said. “What now? We're supposed to climb the elevator shaft and waltz in the vault unnoticed?”

Jace reached up and pushed the ceiling panel up. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”

Clary let out a short laugh. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”

“Remember the binoculars?”

“Yeah?”

Jace showed Clary another rune design. “This one’s a Nyx rune. It’s like night vision. You can copy mine.” He paused. “You got it?”

Clary eyed the rune carefully. “Yeah. Why do I need night vision?”

Jace smirked. “You’ll see.”

Clary took out her stele and shrugged off her jacket. She reached to draw the rune on her right shoulder. She glanced back at Jace. “Um…”

“Feel free to ask for help,” Jace said.

Clary gave him a look. Jace pushed off the wall and took the stele from her, drawing the rune onto her shoulder.

“I, um… I think I can take it from here,” Clary said.

Jace finished the rune. “Where’s the fun in that?”

* * *

Izzy and Alec climbed up the stairwell and entered the police station. Alec groaned internally knowing what was coming next.

“You aren’t doing the distraction, are you?” he asked his sister.

“Nope,” Izzy confirmed. “I’ve decided to grow up, remember? No more distracting for me.” She glanced back at the female officer on duty at the information stand. “Besides, I don’t think I’m her type.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think  _ I’m _ her type either,” Alec hissed.

Izzy patted his arm. “Don’t worry, it’s good practice.”

Alec sighed. “Yeah, I know, I know. For asking out Magnus. Whatever. You’re going to have to owe me for this.”

“How about I cover for you until you tell mom and dad,” Izzy suggested. She grabbed at Alec’s shirt and started undoing the top buttons.

“No thank you,” Alec said, buttoning them back up. “The button thing, I mean. Yes, thank you for covering.” He sighed.

“It’s easy,” Izzy said. “Come on.”

Alec slowly trudged towards the table. He put his hands down and smiled at the officer. “Hey.”

The officer didn’t look amused. “Can I help you?” she asked.

_ Say something flirty like you would say to Magnus! _ he screamed at himself. Of course, the thought of Magnus and flirting didn’t really do much to calm his nerves considering his body was telling him to go out and buy a heavy duty closet to hide in.

“You come here often?” he heard himself say.

_ Yeah, you really nailed it, Lightwood, _ he said sarcastically.

The officer gave him a look. “I work here. What can I help you with?”

Alec nodded. “Right, um… Right, right, right, yeah, um… Yeah, I'm just…”  _ Screw you, Izzy. _ “I'm looking for some information. Oh, look…” He reached for the pamphlets off to the side, knocking the officer’s bottle of water over. “Oh, wow. I'm so sorry. Let me just get that.” He reached down to flip Izzy the security card as she walked past. “That's not… I'm so sorry. That's such a mess. Let me clean that up. Uh, it's not working.”

“Okay,” the officer said, pushing Alec’s hands away as he tried to help clean the water.

“Here, let me,” Alec said.

“No, I got it,” the officer said. “I got it. Just go. Go.”

“You sure?”

“Go,” the officer said more forcefully.

Alec grabbed some of the pamphlets. “Thank you so much.” He hurried off after Izzy.

Izzy giggled when Alec joined her.

“Never again,” Alec said lowly.

“You have to admit, that was funny,” Izzy said. She glanced at the door that would lead them to the power box. “Now, wait here and keep watch while I go shut down the power.” She slipped through the door and Alec waited for her to return.

When the lights went out, Alec had already activated his Nyx rune. Izzy came out seconds after.

“Let’s go,” she said. “We have to meet Clary and Jace out front.”

The Nyx rune proved to be helpful since night had fallen outside. Alec and Izzy were only waiting for ten minutes before Clary and Jace burst out of the precinct.

“There!” Izzy said, pointing at them. She and Alec hurried over.

“Did you get it?” Alec asked.

“Theoretically,” Clary said.

Alec frowned. “Theoretically?” He could have sworn Clary got the Cup. What had gone wrong?

“Yeah,” Clary said. She sighed. “I found the card. I just have to figure out how I reached into my notebook before. It’s… It’s not an exact science.”

“Oh.” Alec let himself relax slightly. “So… you have the card with the Cup, but you can’t access the Cup yet.”

“We can discuss this back at the Institute,” Jace said. “But right now, considering we just stole from the cops, I suggest we get back home.”

“Guys,” Izzy said. The red necklace around her neck was pulsing. “I think the mundanes might be the least of our worries.”

“Let’s go,” Jace said. He started walking briskly away from the station followed by Izzy and Alec.

“Guys, slow down,” Clary called. She hurried after them, running into an old woman and causing her to drop her purse. “Oh, I am so sorry,” Clary said, kneeling to pick up the purse. When she looked up, the woman snarled and her face turned into a demon.

“Grandma,” Jace said pleasantly. He pulled her close and ran a sword through her. The demon dissolved into dust.

“What the hell?” Clary asked.

“Language,” Jace reprimanded her. “Not in front of Grandma.”

“How did it find us?” Alec asked.

Jace shook his head. “I don't know… but she brought friends.”

“How can you tell?” Clary asked.

“It's like seeing through a glamour,” Jace explained. “You just got to pay attention to the details.”

“But I can’t see anything,” Clary said.

Alec interrupted them. “And we can have this conversation at the Institute. We gotta get out of here.”

“Hey, this way!” Clary called. She led them down around the building, away from the approaching demons until they reached the electrical room. “What’s the Unlock rune again?”

Jace kicked the door open. “Open sesame.” He gestured to the door. “Go.”

Clary entered the electrical room first, followed by Jace, Izzy, and Alec.

Alec nocked an arrow in his bow.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Jace asked him.

“Holding them off,” Alec said. “Take Clary back to the Institute.”

Jace stared at him. “No, if you're staying, I'm staying. We fight together.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Alec said. “If the demons get the Cup, we’re dead anyways.”

“I’m not leaving anyone behind,” Jace said stubbornly.

“You don’t have a choice,” Alec told him.

And wasn’t that the story of Jace’s life. Alec remembered saying these words to Jace the first time. Back then, all Jace had been doing was making choices. Choices to choose Clary over everyone else. It wasn’t until later than Jace never got a choice.

Jace didn’t get a choice when Valentine found them at Camille’s. Jace didn’t get a choice when Lilith’s Owl possessed his body. Jace didn’t get a choice when the angels took out their anger on Clary for the runes she’d drawn.

Now here Alec was, telling Jace he didn’t have a choice. The words felt slimy and gross, but Alec could handle himself. Jace had to get back to the Institute.

Clary interrupted them. “I know you guys are having a moment, okay? But we really have to go.”

“Don’t worry,” Izzy told Jace. “It’s not like this is the first time Alec has saved your life. I doubt it’d be the last.”

“Go,” Alec ordered them.

Jace held Alec’s gaze for a second before nodding. “See you back at the Institute.”

“See you then,” Alec said. He aimed his bow at the door.

Jace ushered Clary and Izzy down the hall. They went through another door, seraph blades providing the only light.

“Hold on,” Clary panted. “I’m sorry, Jace.”

Jace and Izzy stopped. “It’s okay,” Jace assured her. “We can take a breather.”

“No, it’s not that,” Clary said. She glanced at Izzy.

“I, um… I’ll scout ahead,” Izzy said. She walked further down the hallway.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you through,” Clary said.

Jace shook his head. “You don't have to apologize to me, Clary.”

“Unfortunately, you can't stop me.”

Jace snorted. “Well, yeah, I’m starting to see that.”

Clary smiled. “Just… I've been so focused on trying to find my mom, I don't think I realized how much you've actually done for me. So, thank you.”

“Clary, I'm a Shadowhunter. It's kinda my job.”

“You… Your job?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, you’d do this for anybody?” Clary teased.

Jace pretended to think for a moment. “Maybe not Simon.”

Clary laughed. “Funny, I think he'd say the same thing about you.”

They started heading down the hall after Isabelle.

“You know, you’re not too bad yourself,” Jace said.

“Me?” Clary asked.

Jace nodded. “Yeah. You kicked some pretty serious ass back at the police station. At least, you got my ass kicked.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“Guys?” Izzy called. “It’s pulsing.”

They hurried over.

“Again?” Clary asked.

“Getting close,” Izzy said. “Let’s spread out.” She swung her sword and started in one direction. Jace and Clary fanned out behind her.

“Izzy, where is it?” Jace whispered.

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s like they’re right here, but I don't see them.”

There was a snarl and a demon lunged out of the dark towards Jace. Jace reached up and caught the demon. He let go and swung the sword, dissolving it the same way he had done with the Grandma.

“Are you hurt?” Clary asked.

“I'll live,” Jace grunted.

Clary glanced warily at the spot where the demon had been. “What are those things?”

“Shax demons,” Jace answered. “They're like the bloodhounds of the Shadow World. They've been tracking us.”

“So what do we do?”

“The Institute’s only a couple blocks from here,” Izzy said. “We can’t lose them, but they won’t be able to track us if we split up.”

“But, I don't… I don't…”

Jace put a hand on her shoulder. “Clary, you'll be fine. Izzy and I will draw them away. No matter what happens, just keep running.”

Snarls echoed down the hallways.

“They’re coming,” Clary said worriedly. “Jace, I…”

“Run, Clary!” Jace yelled, pushing her away as the demons swarmed from the shadows.

Clary hesitated before taking off away from Jace and Izzy.

* * *

When Luke showed up, Alec breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, he could have texted Magnus where he was and the warlock would have dropped everything to help, but that would have been  _ way _ out of character for him. He didn’t want to know what Jace or Izzy would do with that information.

He knew Luke was going to show up, it was just a matter of staying alive and killing demons long enough for that to happen. Which he had actually been starting to worry would be longer than he could hold out.

Then Luke the werewolf jumped in and tore two Shax demons in half. Alec let an arrow fly into a demon as Luke took care of two more. The Shadowhunter and werewolf duo made quick work of the demons.

“You okay?” Luke asked once he was back to his human form.

Alec nodded. “Fine. Couple scratches.” He used his stele to activate his  _ iratze _ rune. “Should heal quickly. Do you need—” he stopped himself. Luke wasn’t a Shadowhunter yet. Honestly, Alec didn’t know if Luke would get to become one if he and Magnus made all the changes they wanted to—the changes Jace and Izzy wanted to.

“I’m good,” Luke said quickly, filling the awkward silence. “Where’s Clary?”

“She ran ahead with Jace and Izzy,” Alec answered. “I stayed behind to hold the demons off. Give them time to get Clary back to the Institute.”

Luke took off at a sprint in the direction Alec gestured to. It was expected. Clary was as good as Luke’s daughter.

Alec jogged after Luke. He thought about the Shadowhunter turned werewolf turned Shadowhunter. Luke was supposed to go on to date Alec’s mom. At least, that’s what happened in the original timeline. Now, Alec was planning to save Jocelyn, something he thought he personally owed to Clary considering he had been the one to kill Jocelyn in the first place.

But hadn’t Luke and Maryse been happy together? Luke might be happy with Jocelyn, but would Maryse find someone else? Alec hated this. This had been another reason why he hadn’t wanted to be the one joining Jace on the mission.

Alec almost crashed into Luke who had stopped.

“Clary!” Luke called.

Clary whirled around and held up her seraph blade. “Get back! How do I know you’re Luke?”

Luke held his hands in a placating gesture. “I got you spray paint for your birthday.” When Clary lowered her sword, he asked, “What happened?”

“Uh, demons,” Clary said. “Long story. Um…” she took a shuddering breath. “Where’d you come from?”

“Jail,” Luke answered. “I ran into Alec. Said you might be down here. Thought you might need some help.”

“Apparently not,” Alec said. “Looks like she took care of it.”

“Shouldn’t we get going or something?” Clary asked. “More demons could be coming, right?”

Luke gave her reassuring smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I got the pack on the lookout. If there’s any other demons, we’ll take care of them.”

Clary let out a laugh. “Look at you, leader of the pack.”

“Well, you know, it has its perks,” Luke said. “Shall we?”

Clary started. “Yeah. Right.”

“Thank you,” Alec told Luke.

Luke nodded. “Just keep the Cup away from Valentine.”

“That’s the last thing we want,” Alec said. “The Cup will be safe for now. Until we figure out what to do next.”

* * *

“So I was thinking about what you said,” Clary said as she and Alec walked back to the Institute. “We aren’t giving the Clave the Cup yet?”

Alec glanced at her. “You want the Cup to use it as leverage to get your mom back, right?”

Clary’s hands tightened around her bag where the card with the Cup was. “How did you know that?”

“Not that hard to figure out,” Alec said. “You’ve done everything to try to get her back so far. Why would now be any different?”

“So you aren’t mad? Or maybe planning to grab the Cup from me before I can do it?”

Alec stopped walking. “Clary. We don’t see eye-to-eye a lot. But I’m not heartless. If it was someone I cared about, I’d probably do the same. As Shadowhunters, we’re taught that emotion clouds judgement. Because it does. Doesn’t mean we don’t have it or that we don’t act on it. So if you’re going to do this, you’re going to need help. You don’t have to do this by yourself.”

Clary stared at him. “Thanks. Alec.”

“Yeah, well, I actually like you sometimes,” Alec said.

“I actually kinda like you too,” Clary said with a strange smile on her face. “You know, I wish we started out like this. Overbearing older brother and—”

“Annoying little sister?” Alec finished.

Clary grinned. “Yeah.”

“We’ll get your mom back, and you’ll have a long time to spend with her,” Alec said. “And I’ll help you. I owe you that.”

“You owe me that?” Clary asked. “Wow.”

“I just mean that…” Alec ran through every possible reason he could have to owe Clary.

Not his actual reason—Jocelyn’s death. He’d sound like a lunatic if he told Clary he wanted to save her mom because he’s the one that kills her in a few weeks. But what other reason could he have for owing her?

“Um, ever since you got here, Jace and Izzy have been breaking the rules,” Alec said. “More than usual. I don’t do that. But… I’m trying to relax and live for myself as Izzy keeps begging me to do. I don’t know if I would have accepted Magnus’s offer if it wasn’t for you.”

Clary’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Well, you shouldn’t blame me. That was all you, Alec.” She sighed. “I’m sorry about what I said about Jace the other day. That was wrong. But I’m really happy for you now. I hope this works out.”

“It will,” Alec said quietly. “Clary?”

“Yeah?”

“You know I haven’t told my parents yet, right?”

Clary nodded. “I won’t say a word, Alec. Just know that whatever they say, I have your back.”

“This is getting to be too much,” Alec said. “I’m feeling too many happy feelings around you now.”

Clary burst out laughing. “Really?”

* * *

When they reached the Institute, Jace was running around barking orders.

“—on high alert,” he was saying. “I don’t care what anybody else says, I’ll take full responsibility. Right now, Clary is the only thing that matters.”

“Jace!” Clary called.

Jace turned around to look at her. “Clary.”

Clary hurried over and wrapped her arms around Jace. “I did it. I got the Cup.”

Jace pulled back. “I don’t care about the Cup,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “When I came out of the tunnels, I didn’t see you. I was worried something might have happened.”

Alec tuned out their conversation to look at Izzy. “Are you okay?”

Izzy smiled. “Nothing a little healing rune couldn’t fix. What about you?”

“Luke and his pack pulled through,” Alec said. “They’re taking care of any remaining demons and Luke found me. Helped me out. We found Clary, then her and I came back here.”

“And you didn’t kill each other?” Izzy asked in amusement. “Shocker.”

“Hey,” Alec said. “I don’t hate her.”

“High praise,” Izzy said. Her jaw dropped. “Angel.”

Alec looked over at Clary and Jace who were locked in a passionate kiss. He made a mental note to talk to Magnus about somehow figuring out Jace isn't Clary’s brother. That would save them a lot of trouble down the road.

“Finally,” Izzy muttered. She glanced at Alec. “You really like him.”

Alec frowned. “Huh?”

“Magnus,” Izzy said. Her eyes flicked over to Clary and Jace and then back to Alec. “I know what you said and everything, but… I guess I didn’t see it until now. There’s no jealousy or shame or anger in your eyes anymore. And I know we haven’t known Magnus very long, but I don’t know. I think that just proves you have something special. To connect like this in such a short time… I’m happy for you, big bro. And please let me pick your outfit for the date.”

Alec bit back a grin. “Alright, Izzy. You pick the outfit.”

Izzy cheered. “Yes! Who knows? Maybe you’ll actually pick up some fashion sense from him.”

Alec thought about how he’d spent the past year married to Magnus and in that time, he hadn’t managed to get any fashion sense. Disappointing according to Izzy. Disappointing and adorable according to Magnus.

“I doubt it,” Alec said.

* * *

_ Magnus: I thought my idea was clever, but I didn’t think you’d actually accept. _

_ Alec: Why wouldn’t I? More time to spend together. Or is that just torture now? _

_ Magnus: Haha, you remember that. If I recall, we have a rather busy week ahead of us. So I was thinking Friday night? _

_ Alec: Friday night is good. Don’t forget about the Forsaken tomorrow. _

_ Magnus: Always business with you. _

_ Alec: Sorry. _

_ Magnus: Mmm, I love that about you. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alexander. Try not to propose to beautiful Clave envoys. _

_ Alec: Tempting, but I’m married. Or should be married. It’s confusing. And it’s strange to be sleeping alone. No, that’s not an invitation to Portal over. _

_ Magnus: You’re no fun. _

_ Alec: Goodnight, Magnus. I love you. _

_ Magnus: Goodnight, Alexander. I love you too. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of Clalec BrOTP thrown in this chapter. Some contemplation of serious things. Alec is my internal battle of Maryse or Jocelyn for Luke. At this point in time all I've read is all six Mortal Instruments, all three Infernal Devices, and Red Scrolls of Magic. Everything else... I kind of both purposefully and accidentally spoiled for myself by looking stuff up on the wiki pages. The sacrifices you make for writing. What are you going to do?


	4. Envoy of the Clave

_ Never let your circumstances drive you into spending your energy trying to impress people who you believe would judge you for every single thing that you do. Moreover, why should you waste your energy and time on people who are not willing to let you be your true self?  
― Edmond Mbiaka _

Clary and Jace stared at the Mortal Cup—now out of the tarot card.

“It looks just like a wine glass,” Clary said.

“That wine glass saved your life,” Jace told her.

Clary met his eyes. “What if… what if I hadn’t gotten the Cup out in time? That demon…”

“But you did,” Jace said. “First rule of Shadowhunting… when something explodes, just keep walking. Never think twice. Never look away.”

“And what’s the second rule?”

A flash of silver as the Cup was pulled from their hands. Izzy caught the Cup as her whip brought it to her. “There’s nothing a Shadowhunter can’t do in heels,” she said.

Clary went over to take the Cup back while Jace made his way over to where Alec was standing at one of the monitors.

“Alec, what are you doing?” Jace asked. “You can stare at this monitor all you want, they need angel blood to get past the wards. You know that.”

Clary returned the Mortal Cup back into it’s tarot card hiding place.

“No Downworlder can come into the Institute,” Jace finished.

“Not without an invite by a Shadowhunter,” Izzy added.

Alec turned around. “Valentine  _ is _ a Shadowhunter. We have to make sure he can’t get his hands on the Cup.”

“Wait,” Clary said, holding up a hand. “You want to give it back to the Clave? No. Not after everything we went through to get it. Alec, you said—”

“We’re not giving it back to the Clave,” Alec interrupted. “But we  _ do _ need to put it somewhere safe. Just until we figure out what to do with it. Follow me.”

He led Clary over to the training area and knelt down to open his personal safe. This time, Alec hoped the Cup would actually stay there or at the very least his siblings would come to him instead of stealing it like they did before.

“Thank you,” Clary said as Alec placed the Cup inside the safe.

“You are full of surprises, Alec,” Izzy said, observing them.

Alec turned and stood up. “Mom and dad wanted us to turn over a new leaf.”

“Please tell me this isn’t your rebellious phase kicking in late,” Izzy said. “Because I’m glad and all. Finally! But we shouldn’t bargain the Cup on that.”

“We aren’t bargaining the Cup on anything,” Alec said. “And it’s not a rebellious phase.”

Clary dialed a number into her phone. She waited a minute, face falling when the person obviously didn’t pick up the phone. “Simon, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner,” she said.

Alec froze.  _ The vampire. _

That was probably something Alec and Magnus should have discussed. When the plan had been Jace and Izzy going back in time, they were supposed to end up on this day, Simon getting killed by Camille couldn’t be helped at that point. But Alec and Magnus had ended up a day earlier. They could have prevented it.

Sure, Catarina had said that it was probably a good thing to keep the same, and Simon himself had said he wouldn’t mind becoming a vampire again. And it would be nice to not have to look out for the mundane who undoubtedly would remain part of the Shadow World. But it was Alec’s job as a Shadowhunter to protect mundanes from the demons and Downworlders. He knew what Camille was planning to do with Simon. He could have easily put a stop to it. Alec had failed to save Simon.

“Been crazy busy,” Clary continued to leave her voicemail. “We found the Cup. I have so much to tell you. Call me back.”

A beeping interrupted her call. Alec said nothing as the monitors showed something rapidly approaching.

“What…?” Jace said, frowning at the screen.

The proximity alarms started blaring.

Jace leapt to his feet. “There's something outside the perimeter.” He looked at Alec. “Don’t say it.”

“Wasn’t going to say anything,” Alec said.

“What’s happening?” Clary asked.

Izzy studied the screen. “Looks like someone’s trying to break in.” She started towards the doors of the Institute.

“Could be the Circle,” Jace grumbled. He followed after Izzy.

Alec hesitated before going after them. His quiver materialized on his back. “Come on,” he muttered to Clary who picked up a seraph blade.

They crept through the dark towards the spot where Alec knew Raphael to be carrying Simon.

“Don’t move,” Jace called, sword at the ready. Alec held up his bow with an arrow nocked, but he doubted he’d need to shoot it.

A figure holding a large object stepped out of the shadows. Raphael looked stoick and serious as ever. Simon’s head lolled towards the group of Shadowhunters.

Clary took a sharp breath. “Oh my God, Simon!”

“Get him to the annex,” Alec said, voice steady. He avoided looking at Simon’s lifeless body. “Now,” he added when no one moved.

Clary had a hand pressed over her mouth. “God, Simon. I…”

Alec reached out and pulled her back. “Come on. We need to get him out of here before anyone comes looking.”

Izzy was silent as she led the way around to the annex. For a while, the only noise was Clary’s labored breathing.

Finally, Jace spoke up. “People will be wondering what we found outside the perimeter.”

“I’ll go,” Alec said. “I’ll tell ‘em we didn’t find anything. Nobody will come down here.” He looked at Clary. “Clary. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Clary whispered. “You didn’t know.”

That was like a punch in Alec’s gut. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. Then he headed back out of the annex to go report back to the Institute.

When Alec was gone, Raphael said, “I might be a vampire… but I was raised a good Catholic.”

“The vampires breached the Accords,” Izzy said. “Killing Simon is grounds for war.”

“The vampires were not behind this,” Raphael said pointedly. “Just Camille. She attacked Simon on her own.”

“And how do we know you're telling the truth?” Jace asked.

“I could have gotten rid of him,” Raphael said, “but instead I brought him here. I don’t want trouble with the Shadowhunters.”

“Smart decision,” Jace said.

“I warned the mundane to stay away,” Raphael said, “but Camille gave him a taste of her own blood, and like an addict… he came back wanting more.”

Clary’s blood boiled. She wondered if Raphael could sense that. “The only reason Simon ever tasted Camille’s blood is because of you. You kidnapped him! You drug him to Hotel Dumort. You… you delivered him to Camille!” she shouted.

“I never meant for this to happen,” Raphael said.

Clary looked back at Simon’s body. “Simon. Simon, please come back, please!”

“There is a way,” Raphael said.

Clary paused and glanced at the vampire. “A way what?”

Raphael gave her an emotionless look. “A way to bring Simon back.”

“You can do that?” Clary asked, hope filling her chest. “How? How?”

“He’s a fledgling,” Raphael explained. “It’s a state of transition. Your friend can be resurrected.”

Jace shook his head. “No. Clary, no.”

Clary ignored him. “So I could have Simon back? Alive and breathing?”

“That’s just it,” Izzy said. “He won’t return alive or breathing. He’ll be a vampire.”

“And not the sexed up, romantic kind,” Jace said. “The ugly, bloodsucking, coffin-dwelling kind.”

“That’s offensive,” Raphael said, looking mildly annoyed.

“Really?” Jace said sarcastically.

“Coffin implies wooden box.” Raphael gave Jace a smug look. “We have caskets now. They’re made of 14-karat gold.”

“My bad,” Jace said, not really sounding very sorry.”

Raphael glanced out a window. “It’s almost sunrise. Simon must be turned into a vampire tonight or staked through the heart.”

“And if I do neither?” Clary whispered.

“His soul will be trapped for eternity,” Raphael said. “You have till sunset to decide. The clock is ticking.”

Izzy glanced at her phone. “I… I’m so sorry, Clary. I have to go. It’s Alec. He says our parents need to speak with us.” She looked at Jace. “He said they want you too, but you should stay with Clary. We’ll cover for you.”

Jace nodded. “Thanks, Izzy.”

* * *

Alec and Izzy met outside the Head of the Institute’s office.

“—how the Clave handles things,” Robert Lightwood’s voice said.

“What’s going on?” Alec asked as he and Izzy entered the room.

Maryse gestured to the couch. “Sit,” she ordered them.

Alec resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Always orders with his parents. At least, before the divorce and Maryse’s deruning.

“It’s no surprise Jace isn’t here,” Robert said.

“He got held up,” Izzy said. “Said to start without him.”

“I’m sure he has a good reason,” Maryse said lowly.

“Your mother and I,” Robert began.

Maryse gave him a sharp look.

Robert sighed. “Okay,  _ I _ requested a meeting at the Clave to inform them that the Seelies are siding with Valentine.”

“And the Clave denied it,” Maryse finished.

Alec didn’t particularly like the Seelies. He especially didn’t like the Seelie Queen.

_ I speak on behalf of the Downworld… For far too long, the Downworld has depended on the Clave and your Institute to protect us from men like Valentine. It’s time we learnt our lesson and started fighting for ourselves… The answer, Shadowhunters, is no. _

There were Seelies he didn’t mind. Meliorn had been amazing when Jace and he had been aligned with Clary’s alliance rune. But the Seelie Queen just reminded Alec of watching his boyfriend—well, then ex-boyfriend—walk away from him.

“What do you mean?” Izzy asked in Alec’s silence. “They don’t want you coming to Idris?”

“There are rumors that local Shadowhunters have been interfering in Downworld affairs,” Maryse said. “But you two wouldn't know anything about that, right?”

“Nada,” Izzy said the same time Alec said, “Nope.”

Maryse didn’t really look convinced. “Since all this happened here in New York, under our command, they are concerned with our devotion to our job and the cause.”

“But we’re the Lightwoods,” Izzy said.

_ Think that’s kinda the point, _ Alec thought.

“Remember,” Robert said, “the honor isn’t in the name… it’s in the deed. The Clave is sending an envoy.”

“Who will be coming to observe us,” Maryse cut in.

“And to gather information about Valentine to report back.”

“But really to scrutinize our leadership,” Maryse said, “so I beg of the two of you, don’t do anything that would cause the Clave to lose even more trust in us.”

Alec assumed that meant not going out on dates with dastardly warlocks that your parents don’t know you’re dating.

As soon as Izzy and Alec were out of earshot of their parents, Izzy gripped Alec’s arm tightly.

“Tell me you aren’t going to text Magnus and cancel,” she said.

Alec pulled his arm free. “What?”

“The date,” Izzy said. “Tell me you aren’t canceling your date.”

“I’m not canceling the date,” Alec said dryly.

“When is it anyway?”

“Friday night,” Alec answered.

Izzy squealed in excitement. “Oh Angel, I’m so excited! I think I’m more excited than you.”

“I think you are too,” Alec agreed.

* * *

Clary listened to Simon’s voicemail.  _ “Clary, I really need to talk. I think I’m turning into a vampire. I’m scared.” _

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” Clary cried. “This is all my fault.”

“Clary, this isn’t your—”

“No, it is!” she interrupted Jace. “If it weren’t for me, Simon would have never even known about the Shadow World. He would never have been kidnapped by vampires. He wouldn’t have met Camille. He would… He wouldn’t be dead.”

“A fledgeling,” Raphael corrected. “He’s in transition.”

“And now I am left with two,” Clary took a shuddering breath, “two reprehensible choices. And I can’t figure out which one is worse.” She sighed and looked at Raphael. “If I, uh, if I bury Simon, what are the risks?”

“Clary, no,” Jace said firmly. “Absolutely not.”

“Jace, I need to know!” she snapped.

Raphael paused before answering. “If Simon is buried and he doesn’t emerge, he would be trapped under the earth—starving for eternity.”

Clary’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God.” She took a minute to compose herself before asking, “And, uh, if I… if I stake him?”

“He’ll die a human death,” Raphael said. “It’s painless, as far as I know.”

Clary reached out for Simon. She took his hand gently. “Simon, I’m so sorry.”

* * *

Alec would like to have said that he was not jumping at every quick movement, but that would have been a lie. He was anticipating Lydia’s Valentine disguise arrival, and he had no idea if it would be happening the same time as it had before.

“Alec, you think you could get my stele back?” Max asked.

It had been strange seeing Max looking so young again. And jolting. Alec vowed that if Sebastian—Jonathan, whatever—made his way to the New York Institute for whatever reason, he would not touch a hair on Max’s head. Literally.

“They took it away because you nearly burnt down the Mumbai Institute,” Alec said fondly, walking down the stairs to the Ops Center.

“How many times do I have to say it was an accident?” Max complained.

Alec brought his brother to a halt before the hallway leading to the doors of the Institute. He knelt down to be at eye level. “Look, Max,” he sighed. “Somebody very important is coming to visit. All right? You think you can stay out of trouble for just a couple days? If you do, I promise I’ll get your stele back.”

While Alec didn’t necessarily agree that they should shape their lives around looking good for other people, he also believed that at the current moment, Max having a stele was a fire hazard for the Institute. Not that much would change in the coming months.

The doors opened before Max could respond. Valentine—or what  _ looked _ like Valentine—strided towards them. Alec picked up his bow, drew back an arrow, and fired. Lydia as Valentine dodged the arrow and caught it in one graceful move. He could hear the exclamations of the other Shadowhunters behind him. None of them moved to do anything though.

Lydia took out her stele and deactivated her glamour rune. She looked unimpressed.

“That reaction time was abysmal,” she said, walking forward until she reached Alec. “Except for you. I’m Lydia Branwell, envoy from the Clave.”

“Alec Lightwood,” Alec introduced himself.

“Well, good job,” Lydia said briskly. “At least you would have gone out fighting if that was really Valentine. Of course, you might have survived if your fellow Shadowhunters had done anything except stand there.” She brushed past Alec. “Maryse,” she called. “The Clave has ordered me to take temporary control of this Institute.”

Maryse and Izzy walked down into the Ops Center.

“Wait a minute,” Maryse said. “Nobody informed us.”

“The Clave doesn’t need to,” Lydia said. “And, to repeat myself, it’s temporary.” She walked to one of the monitors, touching the screen with her stele. “Nothing’s been decided yet. But I do need full clearance in order to assess how this Institute is running.”

Lydia looked over at Alec. “Where is Clary Fairchild?” When no one answered, Lydia looked around and then back. “I would hope someone here knows.”

“She’s in the field, training,” Alec lied.

Lydia walked up to him. “You’re telling me she’s just… out and about in the streets of New York? Valentine’s daughter?”

“Isn’t she also your cousin?” Izzy asked sharply, tone barbed with sarcasm.

Lydia looked back at her. “Distant cousin.”

“She’s with Jace,” Alec said.

“The same Jace Wayland who decided to lead an unsanctioned raid against the vampires?” Lydia asked. “I've read reports.”

Maryse’s face tightened. “Jace might be unconventional, but he's our best soldier. If he's with Clary, then she's in good hands.”

“I hope so,” Lydia said. “And for your sake, all of New York. All of your jurisdiction better be well protected.” She continued to go from monitor to monitor.

Alec stepped out into the hallways leading to the rooms. He took out his phone.

_ Alec: Lydia just arrived. _

Magnus’s reply was almost instantaneous.

_ Magnus: Did you shoot her? I quite liked her. _

_ Alec: Just thought I’d let you know. _

“Who are you texting?” Izzy asked, sneaking up on Alec.

Alec shut off his phone. “What?”

A knowing smile crept up Izzy’s face. “Magnus?”

“No.” Izzy gave Alec a look. “Maybe.”

She grinned. “I’m rooting for you.”

They headed back towards the Ops Center.

“I’m not a fan,” Izzy said, eyeing Lydia.

“Jealous?” Alec asked.

Izzy scoffed. “No.”

Alec’s phone buzzed with a text.

“Maybe,” Izzy said, reminiscent of her brother’s answer seconds earlier. “How the hell did she catch that arrow?”

Alec checked his texts. Izzy peered over at him. “Magnus?”

“No,” Alec said. He went over to the screen where Lydia and Maryse were. “I have something you need to see. Something attacked the Jade Wolf.” He transferred the pictures to the screen.

“The werewolves’ headquarters,” Maryse said in astonishment. “Where did you—”

“Where did you get these?” Lydia interrupted.

“Leader of the New York wolf pack,” Alec answered.

Lydia studied him carefully. “You’re friends with Lucian Graymark? An ex-Circle member?”

Maryse looked uncomfortable. “How about we send Isabelle and Alec to investigate? I’m sure this is linked to—”

“Valentine,” Lydia said. “I need to see it for myself.” She turned to leave. “Are you coming or what?” she called to Alec.

Alec followed after her.

They didn’t talk much on the way to the Jade Wolf. Alec only spoke up to give Lydia directions to the restaurant. To be honest, Alec didn’t really know how to react around Lydia. She wasn’t the same person he had become friends with following their disastrous wedding that didn’t happen, she was the uptight, all-business woman that he had proposed a political marriage to only hours after meeting her.

Finally, when they reached the docks, Lydia spoke up.

“I can see why all the girls in Idris are clamoring to meet you,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

They wove through shipping containers.

“Rumor has it you’re looking to settle down,” Lydia said. “Get married.”

Alec grimaced. “Damn it.”

“Let me guess,” Lydia said. “Not your idea?”

“Nope.”

“My parents tried to set me up, too,” Lydia said. “But I forged my own path. Married the love of my life… John Monteverde.” She turned melancholy. “Together we were going to run the Lisbon Institute. And then John was killed. Everything was ripped away. My love, my dream job…” She stopped outside the Jade Wolf. “Piece of advice? In this line of work, the only thing worth falling in love with is the work itself.”

“Maybe,” Alec said. “But if there’s no one to love, what are you fighting for?”

Lydia looked surprised. “I never thought about it that way.” She gave Alec a small smile. “So I’m guessing there’s someone? Part of the reason you aren’t happy about the marriage thing?”

“You could say that,” Alec said. He headed into the restaurant.

“Alec,” Luke greeted him.

Alec nodded. “Luke. Where is it?”

“Here.” Luke brought them over to where the Forsaken lay on the ground.

Luke and Lydia squatted down next to it. “It's got some characteristics of a Forsaken,” she said. “It was human. It was runed.”

“I don’t know,” Luke said, rubbing his wrist which was wrapped. “It was more focused, more determined. It attacked like it had a plan.” He stood up. “Plus, a normal Forsaken wouldn’t have been so hard to kill. It took five wolves to take that thing down. Never seen anything like it.”

Lydia nodded. “We’ll take the body back to the Institute,” she said, standing up, “do a full autopsy.”

“Oh, hold up,” Luke said. “I get that I called you. Actually, I called Alec. But what I didn’t want is someone to come down here and just take over.”

“Kinda her thing,” Alec said.

“Look, I know I can come across… abrasive,” Lydia said. “But we’re all on the same side here.” She looked between Luke and Alec. “Can we agree on that? The Institute has the resources to find out what this thing is.”

“We have an expert forensic pathologist,” Alec allowed. “Highly trained in all the creatures of the Shadow World.”

Lydia looked at Luke. “Do you have one here?” She glanced around. “In this, uh, Chinese restaurant?”

“Fine,” Luke said. “You win. Just let me know what you find.”

“If Valentine was behind this,” Lydia started.

“He was,” Luke said. “No question. It’s definitely his work.”

“What do you think he’s after?”

“Honestly?” Luke asked. “Me.”

Lydia looked at him. “So you think Valentine’s going after ex-Circle members?”

“I don’t know,” Lukesaid. “It might be kind of personal. We have a complicated past. But of course, he could be going after the old crew. I’m sure Valentine has a grudge against anybody who turned against him.”

“We’ll put extra wards on the Institute,” Lydia said.

“Hodge and my parents.” Alec was sure he had an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah.”

* * *

“We need to make sure no magic was used to make this,” Lydia said when they had gotten the Forsaken body back to the autopsy room in the Institute. “I’ve called the nearest High Warlock to come in to consult.”

Alec bit back a smile. “Magnus Bane.”

“Do you know him?” Lydia asked.

“Little bit,” Alec said, really trying to fight back his smile now.

Lydia smiled. She looked excited for the first time. “I actually can’t wait to meet him.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “My great ancestor Henry Branwell worked with Magnus Bane to invent the Portal. My family remembers him with high regards.” She paused. “What’s he like?”

Alec blinked. “Uh, well, he’s, uh, he’s… quite magical. I mean, he’s really good at magic. Um, he’s very eccentric, but he’s powerful and smart. He cares about who he helps.” He trailed off when he saw Lydia’s expression. “What?”

Lydia shook her head. “Nothing. Just… what you said earlier when I asked if there was someone. Guess I have my answer.”

Alec flushed. “Excuse me?” When Lydia raised her eyebrows, he deflated. “That obvious?”

“Just when you’re talking about him,” Lydia said with a wry smile. “I won’t say anything though, don’t worry.” She looked up at him. “Must be a great guy for someone like you to fall for him though. I just mean that you’re a Shadowhunter,” she added.

Alec nodded. “Yep.”

“You know, I don’t care that your parents are ex-Circle, right?” Lydia asked. “Your family has always had a strong alliance with mine. They’ve been a powerful force in the Shadow World and praised for their devotion.”

“I know,” Alec said. “They’re different now. I know that.” His phone buzzed.

_ Magnus: I’ll be at the Institute soon. If a handsome Shadowhunter wanted to escort me to the lab, I wouldn’t be opposed. _

Alec shook his head with a laugh.

“What’s that?” Lydia asked.

“Nothing,” Alec said quickly. “Well, it’s not nothing. Um, Magnus said he’ll be here soon and he was asking if I’d meet him.”

“You should,” Lydia said with a smile. “Alec, I wish you could see yourself. When you talk about Magnus… I don’t know, your face lights up and this extra weight on your shoulders just disappears. You go meet him at the entrance, I’ll get Isabelle.”

“You’re amazing, Lydia,” Alec said honestly. “Thank you.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, does anyone else know?”

“Izzy does,” Alec said. “And Jace and Clary. And Luke too, I guess.”

Lydia nodded. “Well, thank  _ you _ for telling me. I know I kind of surprised the answer out of you, but thanks for trusting me with the rest.” She let out a breath. “Now. Go find your warlock.”

Alec smiled as he left the room.

_ Alec: I’ll be there. _

* * *

Magnus was  _ not _ nervous because he was going to be seeing his boyfriend—husband really, but no one knew that—for the first time since that night healing Luke. He absolutely was not worried that in the span of twenty-four hours Alec had managed to un-time travel himself, leaving Magnus with a stuttering, closeted Shadowhunter. Although that version of Alec had been quite endearing and adorable, Magnus preferred not to have his heart thrown through a blender again.

So it was a relief to walk into the New York Institute to see Alec waiting for him.

“Alexander,” Magnus greeted.

Alec looked up with a small smile. “Magnus.”

“Lightwood,” someone called.

Magnus looked over to see Raj. He almost greeted him with a “Dear Raj” before remembering he didn’t quite know Raj yet.

“Lydia Branwell just sent your sister down to autopsy,” Raj said, looking at Alec and ignoring Magnus. “She’ll be waiting for the warlock.”

“The warlock has a name,” Alec said coolly in what Magnus liked to call his I’m-a-leader-don’t-mess-with-me voice. “It’s Magnus Bane. And I’m taking him there now, thank you.”

Alexander Lightwood was incredibly hot when he got all authoritarian like that. Magnus very much wished they were back in their own time. He very much doubted the Shadowhunters of New York would appreciate what Magnus wanted to do to Alec right now. Not that they were all much better in the future, but it was a start.

“Right this way,” Alec said to Magnus in a much more pleasant voice. He gestured to the elevators.

As soon as the doors shut behind them, Alec pulled Magnus into a long, slow kiss that Magnus melted into.

“I miss you,” Alec murmured.

“The feeling is mutual,” Magnus said.

“Friday,” Alec said. “Before or after our date. That’s when I’m going to tell my parents.” He gave a nervous laugh. “You know, I never had to actually tell them? I just… kissed you at my wedding to Lydia. I have  _ no _ idea how to do this.”

“You could always invite me over for a light makeout session in the middle of the Institute,” Magnus said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I’d make that sacrifice for you.”

“I know you would,” Alec said. “But I want to tell them. And then, I will sneak out of the Institute to sleep over whenever you want. By the way, Lydia knows about us. Apparently, I’m some lovestruck idiot when I talk about you.”

The elevator doors dinged open.

“I don’t know if I want to be in the same room as you when Izzy sees you,” Alec admitted.

“Too late!” Izzy’s voice said. She ran down the hall towards them. “Hi, Magnus.”

“Lovely Isabelle,” Magnus said graciously.

Izzy grinned. “So? How’d you get this guy to agree to a date?”

“Natural charm,” Magnus said.

Alec rolled his eyes. “Have fun with the Forsaken body.”

“Oh, we will,” Izzy assured him. “But we can multitask. I still have to grill Magnus about his intentions if he wants me to let him date my brother.”

“If you love me, you won’t do that,” Alec said.

“It’s because I love you, Alec,” Izzy said. “Come on, Magnus. Bodies to cut open and questions to answer.” She skipped off down the hallway.

“I’ll try to direct her attention to the bloodwork,” Magnus promised Alec. “As for you, don’t get any ideas about heroically slaying Forsaken or proposing to girls you’ve met today.”

“I’ll try not to,” Alec said. He checked the hall to make sure there was no one coming and then gently kissed Magnus. “See you later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Lydia's arrived, I'm keeping Simon as a vampire still, and we've got a Forsaken autopsy to do.
> 
> Random note, but I just rewatched the clip from 03x20 when Maryse goes to Magnus's apartment and came to the realization that she went from "what's that warlock doing here?" to the woman who single handedly saved Magnus and Alec's relationship just by asking Magnus when he got his magic back. Hallelujah, praise Maryse Lightwood.


End file.
